The invention relates to a device for automatically connecting the headstock of a horizontal boring machine and an attachment arranged to be secured to the headstock for use on the boring machine.
In the conventional arrangement shown in FIG. 1, a right-angled head 2, serving as an example of attachments to a horizontal boring machine, is conventionally secured to the front face of the headstock of the boring machine and performs its function as its own spindle 3 is rotated. A known method of driving attachment spindle 3 is to advance the rotatable and axially displaceable built-in spindle 4 out of the headstock until a gear clutch member 5, provided at its front end, meshes with an internal gear 6 on attachment 2 so that rotation of spindle 4 is transmitted through bevel gears 7 and 8 to spindle 3.
The engagement of gear clutch member 5 on spindle 4 with internal ring gear 6 will be described in more detail hereinafter. The axial advance of spindle 4 usually is effected either automatically or by manual feeding, using a handwheel. In mounting an attachment of the character mentioned above on the boring machine, therefore, gear clutch member 5 of spindle 4 is manually moved into contact with the front face of internal gear 6. If the teeth of clutch member 5 just mesh with those of the internal gear or clutch member 6, then spindle 4 is advanced axially for full engagement between gears 5 and 6. More often than not, however, the respective phases of the tooth tips and roots of the two gears do not agree with each other. In such a case, the axially reciprocable spindle 4 is fed by hand until the teeth of gear clutch member 5 lightly contact those of internal gear 6. Then the operator carefully inches spindle 4 forwardly, by feel, while slowly rotating this spindle. In this manner, the operator senses the point where gear clutch member 5 meshes with internal gear 6, so that full engagement can now be accomplished.
From the foregoing, it will be clear that the conventional connection procedure requires and, in effect, depends on, the labor and skills of the operator. This offers increasing difficulties with larger, horizontal boring machines and with numerically-controlled machines, which are presently being introduced to a large extent.